How 3D Printing isCreating Indie Entrepreneurs

5 small business success storiesmade possible by 3D printing

How can designers make money with 3D printing?

1. Digital Content: sell 3D printable design files

2. Crowdfunding: sell product concepts using 3D printed prototypes or first editions

3. Retail + Wholesale: sell 3D printed products

4. Licensing: sell mass production rights to 3D printed product

5. Apps: sell 3D design apps (to consumers or corporate buyers)

He has 317 files for sale ranging from $5 to $45 each.

Marketplaces for 3D Printable Design Files

Ponoko November 2010

Grain3D January 2013

3DBurrito March 2013

3DLT April 2013

Azavy April 2013

Cuboyo May 2013

LayerByLayer June 2013

That’s 6 new marketplaces this year! All dedicated to 3D printable designs.

30 Day Experiment Complete.Find out how much money I made!

• 3durrito.com – 0 sales

• 3dlt.com – 0 sales

• layerbylayer.com – 0 sales

• 3dprintingmodel.com – 0 sales

• ponoko.com – 6 sales at $2.99

• TOTAL = $17.94

“Posting random items on a bunch of marketplace sites is not going to lead to sales. You need really good unique models and then you have to market them yourself.” - JD

Experiment conducted by curious individual on Reddit. Here’s what he wrote:

Smart phone controlled nanocopter…

“Digital fabrication has helped us a great deal in iterating our designs based on user feedback.” – Benjamin Black, Hex team

…with 3D printed shells to customize the look.

3D Printing Kickstarter Projectshardware, prototypes + products

• 83 projects

• 37 successful

• 38 unsuccessful

• 8 to be decided

• $7million+ raised

sculpture

action figures

accessories

hardware

Most of that money was for desktop 3D printers.

Her customers aren’t getting stuff straight off the printer. She hand dyes all of her products.

“This technology allows us to create items on demand in more complex forms than older manufacturing techniques.” - Colleen Jordan

3D Printing Services1. Lots more people using 3DP services.

2. Lots more 3DP services on the scene.

3. Consumers purchasing designers products is what’s fueling the growth — not hobbyists; they’re buying desktop printers.

3D printed verions of this espresso cup likely sold in the hundreds. After a licensing deal, mass produced versions are probably selling in the thousands.

rocket espresso cup

• created July 2012

• licensed April 2013

• retailing July 2013

designed by Craig Kaplan

“I can’t manufacture a viral success — I can only be swept up into it. I designed something that I would like, and was surprised and overjoyed to find that others liked it too.” - Craig Kaplan

We’re gonna hear more stories like this.

Built by Sarah Stocker and Matt Danks. Quit their jobs in the gaming industry, boot-strapped this app. It was awesome. Absolutely anyone could create a 3D printed robot.

Launched in November 2011. Acquired by 3D Systems in April 2012.

3D Printing Apps

123D Autodesk

Sculpteo

Society for Printable Geography

Mwoo.me Adele R. Designs

Cubify Draw 3D Systems

Let’s Create Pottery Infinite Dreams

Leopoly Leonar3Do

Challenges + Opportunities

So far, this presentation has been about business opportunties for designers.Now lets talk business opportunities to *support* the designer’s business.

• Most people can’t design for 3D printing.

• Designers are increasingly concerned about copyright violations.

• Marketplaces are not curated.

• Products aren’t tested and may not meet consumer product safety regulations.

• Designers are responsible for business success.

“Aside from signing the contract and sending over a prototype cup, I wasn’t involved in the rest of the magic — Fred handled product development and packaging design, and now marketing, distribution, and all the other details of the retail world.” - Craig Kaplan

How can companies help designers have successful small businesses?

Let designers design. And someone else do:

order management production + Q.A.assembly + finishing

packaging + fulfillmentshipping + distributionwholesale + retail

marketing + advertisingcustomer supportlegal councel

This is what we asked ourselves at Ponoko. We’ve got production down, now we’re figuring out all that other grey stuff.

Resources:

3D Printing Services

• Cubify Cloud Print• i.materialise• Kraftwurx• Ponoko• RedEye• Sculpteo• Shapeways

• Azavy• 3Dburrito• 3DLT• Cuboyo• Grain3D• Ponoko• LayerByLayer

3D File Marketplaces

Crowd Funding Platforms Sourcing + Fulfillment

• Crowdfunder• Dragon Innovation• GoFundMe• IndieGoGo• Kickstarter• Small Knot

• Dragon Innovation• Fulfillrite• Make That Thing• Shipwire

Resources:

How 3D Printing is CreatingIndie Entrepreneurs

Kristen Turner

presentation preparedfor Inside 3D Printing San Jose 2013

CMO Ponoko